(Photos) Pope Leo visited a Roman cemetery and celebrated Mass on this feast of All Souls Day, his first as pontiff. "Let us fix our gaze upon the Risen Christ and think of our departed loved ones as enfolded in his light."
All Souls Day is a special day in the Church's calendar and it has a variety of traditions that are important to know.
Comfort those who are in the pain of parting, with the assurance that the dead live in You and that even our bodies, entrusted to the earth, will one day be sharers in the Paschal victory of Your Son.
This month is a perfect time to grow closer to Padre Pio, for our good and the good of our loved ones.
Shakespeare made ample use of ghosts, ghouls, and witches in his plays. Halloween is a perfect time to look at the spooks in his works!
It is surprising that St. Nicholas of Tolentino is not more prominent, and more frequently called upon.
The Church Suffering refers to all those united to the Church in a state of purgation after death.
Purgatory is a state in the afterlife that prepares a soul for the joys of Heaven.
The martyr St. Perpetua had a vision of her brother in purgatory and saw how her prayers lessened his suffering.
When natural disasters struck Naples, Catholics built a church dedicated to remembering the souls that perished and who were in Purgatory.
The Catholic Church has an uninterrupted tradition of belief in a purgatorial state after death.
The month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls. This saint is an inspiration and a friend to help us in our devotion.
Devotion to her at the Shrine of Montligeon, France, brings the grieving from all over the world to pray for the departed.
St. John Macias, a friend of St. Martin de Porres, is often depicted "stealing" souls from purgatory with his rosary.
According to various legends, St. Benedict witnessed his sister, St. Scholastica, enter the gates of Heaven.
Many Catholics view the body of a deceased person one last time before they are buried, reminding them of their own mortality.
Throughout this month of November, we can pray for those we have loved and for whom we can still do much.
